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MANILA The Worst Concern

President Corazon Aquino’s efforts to neutralize Communist forces in the Philippines are well publicized. But another and quite separate guerrilla war is causing her government more concern for the long term, namely rebellion in the southern islands by the Moslem Moros. The Moros, the original inhabitants of the archipelago before the Spanish conquest, occupy the large island of Mindanao and surrounding islands in the Sulu Sea. After the Second World War, Christian migrants from the north flocked to Mindanao, and the 2.5 million Moros found themselves a minority. The autonomy that the central government is willing to give the Moros depends on the careful establishment of demographic balances in a number of the southern provinces. Last January, Nur Misauri, leader of the Moro National Liberation Front, struck an agreement with Manila to seek such a balance peacefully. There is a strong possibility, however, that Manila will also reach agreement with southern Moslems who do not share the intransigence of the MNLF and its leader. In that case, there is anxiety here that Misauri, who has Marxist-Leninist roots, may try to ally himself with the Communist leadership. There are already rumors circulating locally about MNLF guerrillas joining forces with Communist units.

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MANILA The Worst Concern

President Corazon Aquino’s efforts to neutralize Communist forces in the Philippines are well publicized. But another and quite separate guerrilla war is causing her government more concern for the long term, namely rebellion in the southern islands by the Moslem Moros. The Moros, the original inhabitants of the archipelago before the Spanish conquest, occupy the large island of Mindanao and surrounding islands in the Sulu Sea. After the Second World War, Christian migrants from the north flocked to Mindanao, and the 2.5 million Moros found themselves a minority. The autonomy that the central government is willing to give the Moros depends on the careful establishment of demographic balances in a number of the southern provinces. Last January, Nur Misauri, leader of the Moro National Liberation Front, struck an agreement with Manila to seek such a balance peacefully. There is a strong possibility, however, that Manila will also reach agreement with southern Moslems who do not share the intransigence of the MNLF and its leader. In that case, there is anxiety here that Misauri, who has Marxist-Leninist roots, may try to ally himself with the Communist leadership. There are already rumors circulating locally about MNLF guerrillas joining forces with Communist units.